As Henry David Thoreau advised, I try to live consciously so that hopefully when I come to die I shall not discover that I have not truly lived. Thus, unrelated matters connect up within my internal being.
— Rose Mary Clarke, 2009
The first line of Rose Mary Clarke’s first column for the Eastside Voice on March 13, 2009 sums up perfectly what she did in her weekly column for us, as well as how she lived her real life.
Rose Mary Clarke passed away October 26, one day after celebrating her 54th Anniversary with Bill, her best friend and husband. Since then, I’ve talked to many people she’s influenced, and some of the fans of her writing, who are mourning the loss of a distinct voice and presence. Most told me that they will miss her kindness and generosity of spirit. Many noted how much she had given to the community over the decades, with little fanfare. The official details of her life can be found in her obituary at the end of this article.
The words of Auntie Mame come to mind when I think of Rose Mary, “Live, live, live! Life is a banquet and most of the poor suckers out there are starving to death!” — complete with a flute of Champagne in one hand, naturally. She could regale you with stories of her adventures, whether on the road or in her home, and the interesting people she’d met along the way. She loved good food and conversation, books (and conversations about books), and was a keen observer of the world around her. As age often does, it slowed her down, but she remained as active as possible right to the end.
Rose Mary with her book, Ramblings.
Rose Mary was instrumental in organizing the first Irvington Luminaria, which has become a holiday tradition. She saved up baby food jars to hold the candles and then put the whole shebang in the white bags, realizing that flaming bags along the walkway wasn’t exactly the look she was going for in the early days. She was sometimes disappointed that everyone in Irvington didn’t participate in the Luminaria — she always wished that the whole area would be transformed into a glittering candlelit wonderland. Maybe this year?
Rose Mary also was the mastermind (well, one of them, at least) behind the Benton House Annual Book Sale. She loved books and wanted others to love reading and discovering new authors and works. The sale outgrew the house several years ago: They got so many donations and shoppers inside one year that the floors creaked rather ominously in the house — the next year, it was outside in an enormous tent. One year, I volunteered to help her out in the basement of the Benton House, sorting books into categories. Hundreds of boxes of books — and we two bookworms down there among them! Oh but we had fun talking about our favorite writers and making comments about the all the “bodice rippers” (romance novels) that found their way to the donation boxes. For hours we dug for literary treasures and delighted in the occasional finds of rare or old interesting tomes. The dusty, dirty, heavy-lifting hours in the damp basement flew by. She dearly loved those sales, and the people who organized them and made it all work. The money the sales raise goes directly back to the upkeep on the Benton House in Irvington.
Rose Mary and Bill Clarke.
She also loved newspapers, and writing for us and the Knightstown Banner, her hometown paper. Every week, our readers could look forward to spending some time with Rose Mary and her world. Whether she was recounting travels west with Bill in her younger years, childhood friendships, Proust’s madeleines and tea, Walden, the birds just outside her windows, or the many other subjects she wrote about, we were entranced. Many readers e-mailed her to add their observations and experiences. She will be missed by the thousands who read her column on our pages, as well as online at weeklyview.net
From her last column, this was her message to her fans and friends:
To all who read my columns: I have loved my life, and you have nourished my connection to humanity. Below is one of my very favorite songs.
Oh it’s a long long while
From May to December,
But the days grow short
When you reach September.
When the autum weather
Turns the leaves to flame
One hasn’t got time for the waiting game.
Oh the days dwindle down to a precious few—
November—December
And these few precious days
I’ll spend with you—
These golden days
I’ll spend with you.
—Kurt Weil, “September Song”
Note from Paula Nicewanger
I’ve been crying while putting this page together. I will truly miss this spunky lady. I’ll never forget the first time she e-mailed me a sample of her writing and said she’d written for the Eastside Herald for years. I was managing the Herald after it had been purchased by Gannett in July 2005 (The Star). I really liked her writing and sent it on to my supervisor who managed all 3 community newspapers that Gannet had acquired. I got an e-mail back from his editor saying they didn’t want us to have columnists, because that was back-pedaling — whatever that meant. I immediately called Rose Mary and asked when could she start! My supervisor never noticed her column and if he had I would have said I never got the e-mail. Better to beg for forgiveness, than ask permission sometimes.
I enjoyed reading her columns every week as much as you did. I remember one time e-mailing her that I had played the same outdoor games that she had as a child and she said we were “kindred spirits.” Another time she had written about making little dolls from hollyhocks and again I had done the same thing (even though I was the generation behind her). For her 75th birthday I made a couple pink hollyhock dolls and framed a photograph of them as a gift. Rose Mary put it on her fireplace mantel and said she’d treasure it. She also loved the sunrise every morning and since my second story bedroom window faces east with only shutters at the bottom, I too see the sunrise and we’ve exchanged e-mails of glee at their beauty. I will think of her every time I see a particularly magnificent one.
Rose Mary Gard Clarke –
October 26, 2017
Rose Mary was the daughter of Ruth E. Kelly Gard Wallace and Earl B. Gard Sr. She was born in Rushville, IN on June 5, 1937 the youngest of 7 children who preceded her in death. Rose Mary graduated from Knightstown High School, Knightstown IN and later graduated from Ball State University in 1958. She graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington, IN with a Master’s in French Literature.
Rose Mary moved to Indianapolis and taught both French and English at Franklin Central High School, Marion County and Thomas Carr Howe High School in Irvington, Indianapolis. She met and married William C. Clarke on October 25, 1963. They moved to Irvington, Indianapolis and she later left teaching to be a home maker when their daughter was born. Other employment included the Indianapolis Dept. of Transportation, and the Warren Twp. Assessor’s Office. Rose Mary was an award-winning Carpenter Realtor® in the Irvington area for over twenty years.
Her Civic activities included serving as Precinct Committeewoman, a member of the Indianapolis/Marion County Board of Zoning Appeals and membership on the Metropolitan Development Commission. Rose Mary served as Chairman of the Irvington Community Council where she was instrumental in starting Irvington’s annual Luminaria Night. Rose Mary also served as President of the Benton House Association and as a member of the Board of Directors for the Irvington Union of Clubs. In 2008, she was awarded the Hilton U Brown Lifetime Achievement Award by the Irvington Historical Society for her lifelong commitment to improving the quality of life in Irvington.
As an avid reader, Rose Mary’s favorite quote was “so many books, so little time.” She also wrote a weekly column for The Knightstown Banner, Knightstown, IN and The Weekly View, formerly the Eastside Herald in Indianapolis. In her columns she shared all of her adventures as a world traveler. She later self-published and sold a collection of her columns in a collaborative book with her daughter called Ramblings by Rose Mary.
Rose Mary was preceded in death by son Mark C. Clarke, is survived by her husband William, daughter Victoria Clarke-Personette, son-in-law Thomas Personette, grandsons William D. Millhouse ll, Anthony W. Millhouse, Christopher S. Millhouse, grand-daughter in law Tasha Millhouse and great grand-daughter Adalyn Millhouse.
The family invites you to share in Celebrating Rose Mary’s life on Saturday, November 4th 2017, 2:00 – 5:00 pm at the Benton House in Irvington at 312 S Downey Ave. In lieu of flowers the family requests gifts be made to the Benton House in in person during the Celebration or contact Oakley-Hammond Funeral Home, Moore & Kirk Irvington Chapel 5342 E Washington St, Indianapolis, IN 46219 for other arrangements.
